Chocophoria
by LadyRainbow
Summary: Hoshi and the crew ends up being under the influence of...alien chocolate? Set in the real universe, between my fics Capt. Mayweather's Mission and Boomer Bust. Please R&R, thanks! Now complete wCH 10!
1. Chapter 1

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Here's a shorter story, a bit of fluff after the more "serious" stories I've been doing. Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:) I got a sugar high after eating too much Halloween candy and this came out of it. (And how does chocolate affects Denobulans? Hmmm...)**

**Series Note: This story comes after my fics "Captain Mayweather's Mission" and before "Boomer Bust", so Travis, Hoshi and Malcolm have been promoted to Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, respectively.**

**Pairing: This chapter, R/S. Other pairings in later chapters.**

**Warning: Hawaiian shirt eyesore alert! **

**Rating: T**

**Please read and review! Thanks!**

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* * *

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**One**

The shop itself was nothing special, just another stone structure in the middle of Dnayu Three's Marketplace. Yet the smells coming out of it were heavenly: rich, dark and full of temptation. A group of children stood at the duraglass window, pressing their noses against it as they watched the baker cut thick slabs of sweet brown candy with a steel knife. They made chittering noises as the baker sliced the slabs into smaller triangles, wrapped them in clear plastic, and stacked them in full view of the children. Other customers came into the shop at a steady pace and left with brightly wrapped packages.

"Is this it?" Crewman Liz Cutler asked. She stood across the street from the shop and took a deep whiff of the delicious smells. Her smile widened as she looked at her friend.

"This is it," confirmed Lieutenant Hoshi Sato. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement as she read the characters on the sign next to the door. "Exactly where the minister said it would be."

"I think I'll camp out permanently here. This is wonderful! It's like some kind of perfume." Liz took another deep breath, much to the amusement of the nearby shoppers.

"Come on, Liz, let's see what they have." Hoshi adjusted the shopping basket over her arm and crossed the street, Liz close behind her. The other shoppers gave them bright smiles and bobbed their antennae in greeting. Hoshi pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

A glass display case ran along one wall. Each level held multiple trays, with Dnayun desserts piled high in pyramids. Crme-filled pastries, sugar-coated candies, rainbow-colored jelly cookies...Hoshi gazed at them with wide eyes. At the end of the case was a plate of the brown candy triangles, next to a cup of mocha sauce.

Canisters of powders and bags of mixes were stacked on the shelves, each prominently displayed in their glory. The sellers replaced the sold items as fast as their four hands could move, but they were just keeping up with demand. Hoshi tried to decipher the list of ingredients; she recognized "sweet", "love", "yummy (or something like that)" and "dessert".

The baker waved his four arms at them from behind the marble counter. "Come in and be welcome! Warm your hearts at my hearth!" he called in Dnayun as he pressed his hands together and bowed in a gesture of hospitality. "Please, allow me to serve your needs. What are your desires?"

Hoshi tried not to blush at his words, for his deep voice caressed them like poetry. This language was rich in hyperbole and innuendo as well as its culture, so she decided to take the words at face value. She turned her attention to the delicacies on display. "We have heard of the wondrous items in your shop, Master Baker," she answered in the same language. "and were curious as to their making. Is it true your delicacies are as delectable as they tell us?"

"May I recommend the _mokka_, my Lady? I cooked it just this morning." The baker gestured towards a pitcher filled to the brim with the brown liquid. Hoshi nodded, and he deftly poured some of it into two mugs. He gave Hoshi one of the mugs and gestured for Liz to take the other. Both women bowed to the Master Baker, then took a deep gulp of the liquid.

A bloom of pure ecstasy erupted on Hoshi's tongue and she saw stars. The rush of contentment was so strong that it startled her. That quickly turned into delight as she peered into the depths of her half-full cup. "Wow. That was—"

"—amazing," Liz finished, her word little more than a sigh.

The Master Baker laughed, a deep rumble in his chest. "The first taste is bliss, then it becomes a constant friend. It will always be a comfort to a tired soul or a loving heart."

"Waxing poetic?" Liz asked, her voice still hushed.

"The _mokka_ is more than a dessert. It is an art, My Lady," he objected, with no judgment or malice in his voice. He blinked, his long lashes sweeping across his cheeks like tiny feathers.

"I can see that," Hoshi said, as she watched the same group of children pay for their desserts and file out the door with their treasures. She grinned at Liz and added, "Well, I suppose we ought to decide what we want to get."

Liz sighed and regarded the selection with an eager eye. "Hmmm...decisions, decisions..."

They spent the next twenty minutes with the Master Baker and his assistant, as they described every confection in their shop. Twenty different kinds of candy alone, plus the cookies, bars, pastries and drinks. Hoshi chose a bag of cookies, an assortment of fudge, and a liter of the liquid _mokka_. It was enough to replenish her secret chocolate stash and then some. Liz decided on a small tray of sweet pastries, a wrapped container of cookies, and some thick slabs of solid _mokka_.

"Chef can make a killer cheesecake with this," she said happily. "If we run into him in the Marketplace, we'll have to tell him about this shop!"

As Liz paid for her purchases, the Master Baker drew Hoshi aside and pressed a small tray of candy into her hand. They were shaped like little gold ingots, wrapped in shiny maroon foil. Hoshi counted nine rows of ten ingots...ninety pieces of candy.

"Share this with your friends," the Master Baker said. "This tray is meant as a token of comradeship and togetherness."

"Thank you, Master Baker," Hoshi said with a grin. "I'll be sure to share it with the crew."

When she and Liz made their way back out into the warm sunshine, Liz asked, "What's with the free tray of candy?"

"The Master Baker asked me to share with the rest of the crew," Hoshi explained. "I'll probably ask Chef to distribute it during Movie Night this week. It's a token of friendship and hospitality."

"That was really nice of him." Liz smiled as a familiar figure made his way out of the market stands. "Chef! Over here!"

Chef turned his head at Liz's shout. His broad face brightened at the sight of them and he made his way to their side. He balanced a clutch of baskets in both arms; Hoshi and Liz saved them from flying out of control. Hoshi glanced at the unfamiliar fruit and vegetables, with tubes of spices wedged between them. Chef had been making good use of their stop to replenish his food supply.

"Are you ladies enjoying yourselves?" he asked.

"We just found the best chocolatier this side of Antares," Liz told him. "You'll never believe the kind of _stuff_ they have in there..." As she rambled on, a flash of fabric at a nearby stand caught her eye: a thin, gauzy material cut into a sleeveless dress and hemmed with delicate gold thread. The same design was in several different colors, a fiery red, a royal blue, and a delicate lilac.

"...Well, I should check this place for myself, then. Point me in the right direction!"

"Less than half a kilometer back that way," Liz replied, inclining her head behind them. "You can't miss it with all the people coming in and out of it, Chef."

"All right. Thanks for the tip, ladies!" With a wave, he headed in the direction of the Master Baker's shop. Hoshi grinned at the new spring in his step. _To go where no culinary chef has ever gone before..._

"How about if we check out that fabric stall?" Hoshi said. "I thought I saw a dress there that would be great for my next shore leave."

Liz looked at the dresses hanging on the stall frame and gave her a wicked look. "Red dress, chocolate, British armory officer...hmm..."

Hoshi blushed, but only laughed with her best friend.

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Reed sighed as he sat on the steps leading to the market's main fountain. He shook his head in disbelief as Commander Trip Tucker lounged on a nearby step and chatted animatedly with the native Dnayuns, who seemed in awe of Trip's hideous orange-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt. An artist had set up his easel and was painting his rendition of the eyesore.

"Your shirt should be classified as a dangerous weapon, Commander," Malcolm said with dry humor. "Or at least an unsightly magnet."

"Hey, I'm minglin' with the locals, just like the Cap'n told us to do," Trip shot back without rancor. "We just found a common point of interest."

"Ghastly costumes qualifies as an interest?"

"You know what they say, 'when in Rome...," Trip replied with delight. He turned his attention to a young Dnayun female who was a fabric designer to answer her question about the material of his shirt.

_Perhaps he'll start a trend. Dear God, save us from the thought. _Malcolm allowed himself a slight smirk, then brought his attention back to the crowd. It was high noon, the busiest time in the Marketplace, and the farm workers came by for the midday meal. The aroma of the food stands tickled his nose and his stomach rumbled in response. He promised it something later.

"Many pardons, sir," a sweet voice said in his ear. "Will you accept a token of hospitality?"

Malcolm jumped in surprise, his hand going for the nonexistent phase pistol at his hip. An attractive Dnayun perched on the step above him. She wore a gauzy summer dress that left little to the imagination, her hair done in a careless style, her large aqua eyes enhanced by cosmetics. Two of her hands were on his shoulders, one lay casually at her side, the fourth touched his cheek. He blinked as he felt the blood rush to his face.

"Ah—what kind of token, madam?" he stammered.

The woman chuckled and pressed a card into his hand. The green Dnayun script glowed on the silver rectangle, but Malcolm guessed it was a name and a number. A disk wrapped in red foil was attached to the lower right hand corner. He smelled a rich aroma coming from the disk and identified it immediately: _Chocolate. _

"If you have the time before you leave, follow the directions on this. I promise you—"her sultry voice grew husky at the next words, "—you will not be disappointed."

He swallowed hard and replied, "I'm sorry, but I must decline your generous offer. I'm promised to someone else."

"Then this will serve you in good stead for whomever you are promised. She will be a lucky woman." She gave him a cheeky smile, then wandered off, leaving a bemused Armory officer behind. Trip came up and stared at her until she vanished into the crowd, then turned to Malcolm.

"Whoa. Did I just see her try to proposition you? Hoshi's gonna kill her."

Malcolm rolled his eyes. "I firmly and politely rebuffed her offer, Commander."

"Hoshi's got you trained, Malcolm. She's got you trained good."

"Commander," he said with a note of warning in his voice. "If you're implying that she's 'housetrained' me, I would beg to differ. We aren't married."

"Yet. Mark my words, Malcolm." Trip stretched and turned his head towards the food stalls. "How about some lunch? The smells coming out of there's pretty good. Let's check out what they have."

"Good idea." Malcolm got to his feet, stuffing the card in his pocket. Despite what Trip implied, he was still his own man, not subject to a woman's whim. _Not yet,_ Trip repeated in his mind. He brushed off the incident and followed the commander to the food stalls.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:) This story comes after my fics "Captain Mayweather's Mission" and before "Boomer Bust", so Travis, Hoshi and Malcolm have been promoted to Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, respectively. ****And can you catch a reference to another ENT story on that involves Chef and a very bad day? (cough-Volley?—cough)**

**I made Chef from Italy, so Italian words: Signorina (Miss), pasticceria di cioccolato (chocolate shop/chocolatier), capitano (captain, obviously), Elisabetta is the Italian name for Elizabeth (Cutler), "Per mio fe"---ranges from a mild "Oh my God!" to "Holy #!#!" depending on the context and tone of voice. You won't blame Chef for using this one.**

**Pairing: This chapter, R/S. Other pairings in later chapters.**

**Rating: T**

**Please read and review! Thanks!**

**Two**

"And then the designer gave me this—ta-da! Whaddaya think?" Trip whipped out a tunic made of thin satin-like material, made up of bright squares and decorated with gold, green, silver, and scarlet thread. The sleeves were folded up to the elbows. A silver belt came across the hips, anchored with a blue jewel. The matching balloon pants tied at the ankles with wide satin straps.

Silence fell in the shuttlepod. Even Porthos was quiet and Chef turned an interesting shade of red. Captain Archer's jaw actually dropped a few millimeters before he thought to close it. Hoshi blinked and glanced at Malcolm, whose eyes were in serious danger of falling into the back of his head. Liz Cutler clapped both hands over her mouth as her shoulder shook with silent laughter. She sat way in the back, so Trip didn't see her struggle to maintain some kind of decorum.

"_Per mio fe_," Chef managed to stammer out.

"Um...it's striking, Trip," Hoshi said, tilting her head as the overhead lights flashed on the costume. _Blinding_ was the nicest adjective she could think of, but she tried to be the soul of discretion. "So she did this in—"

"—less than an hour in her shop. She said she wanted to improve on the basic design of my shirt, give it 'a native flair'." Trip's grin was enough to rival Travis Mayweather's on a good day. "I think she did a pretty good job, puttin' her own spin on it. One of a kind, she told me, the genuine original article. They're pretty big on producing a unique product."

"Thank God," Malcolm muttered.

Trip started to glare at him, when Hoshi cut in, "They believe each creation has its own soul, and to duplicate it is the worst of sins. So once they make—a shirt like this, for example—they never use the exact color scheme or the exact pattern for a second one."

Chef grinned and patted the shopping basket under his arm. "The Dnayun are true artists, Hoshi, in their chosen professions. Their recipes are extraordinary and complex, and involve lists of ingredients. The minister's cooks were eager to share their database with me."

"Anything you're gonna try for dinner, Chef?" Trip asked.

"Perhaps...once I sort out the conversion equivalents and figure out just what some of the terminology means. And for that—" he bowed at Hoshi—"I would ask your assistance, Signorina Hoshi. I wouldn't want to make a mistake and cause undue stress on the crew."

Malcolm sighed and Trip turned scarlet, but Hoshi answered, "Of course, Chef. We want to make sure we don't have any weird outbreaks on the ship."

"Or outbreaks of songs," Malcolm muttered again.

"I heard that," Trip said under his breath.

Captain Archer fought against laughter, but a snort escaped him, causing Trip to glare at him. It was so hilarious that Jon couldn't hold back and started laughing. It caught like wildfire and soon the entire shuttlepod rocked with mirth. Trip couldn't keep the stern glare; his eyes softened, then he laughed along.

"And Signorina Hoshi and Signorina Elisabetta found this _pasticceria de ciocolatto_ that is the gem of the quadrant, Capitano," added Chef. "The Master Baker spent the better part of two hours showing me the process of cooking the _mokka_. The completed product is heavenly."

"_Mokka_, eh?" Jon said with a glance at Hoshi. "Leave it to Hoshi to find chocolate on an alien planet. She's got some kind of internal radar for it."

She shrugged. "What can I say? It's a necessity in the universe."

"Maybe we can rig up something in the sensor array to detect the faintest trace of the stuff," Trip mused. "It might be a lifesaver one day. Whaddaya think, Malcolm?"

The Armory Officer rolled his eyes. "I can just see it now. 'Lieutenant Commander, we need to realign the chocolate-detection sensor array. It's throwing off the targeting sensors.' Perhaps we can pack the torpedoes with a healthy dose of Cadbury Dark."

"Hey, that's a waste of good chocolate!" Hoshi protested, punching him lightly on the arm. He smirked in reply.

"You gonna share, then, Chef?" Trip asked.

Chef grinned. "I have a special menu in mind, Commander Tucker."

"Can't wait for it. I think it'll be great," Liz Cutler piped up from the back. "I know Phlox is gonna appreciate it. Denobula has something like chocolate and I know he indulges now and then. Vulcans don't care for chocolate, though. I think it's too sweet for them. T'Pol wouldn't enjoy it very much."

Malcolm shook his head. "Pity."

"More for us then," Trip said cheerfully.

"Trip, be nice," Jon warned with a grin. The communications channel beeped, and he touched it. "Archer."

"We've got you on final approach, Captain," came Travis's voice. "Did you have a good time on Dnayu, sir?"

"I certainly did, Lieutenant," Archer replied heartily. "I heard a certain helmsman won first prize in the Dnayu Hotsled Races."

They all could feel Travis's blush over the comm channel. "Yeah, it was quite a ride, sir, but I think I'll settle for something a little less thrilling for a while."

"You can tell us all about it later, Travis."

"Aye, sir. Opening shuttle bay doors. Welcome back."

It took twenty minutes for Archer to land the shuttlepod and for the bay to repressurize. When the landing deck officer gave the all-clear, the crew went their separate ways. Malcolm headed for the Armory, Trip for Engineering, Archer to the Bridge, and Chef to the Galley, leaving Hoshi and Liz. As Hoshi waited for Liz to climb down from the shuttlepod with her packages, she noticed something glimmering in the bright lights of the shuttle deck.

"What's this?" she asked aloud and picked up the thin crystalline rectangle. It had Dnayun script on it and a circular disk wrapped in maroon foil in the corner. Hoshi sniffed and caught the deep aroma of _mokka_ from the disk.

"You find something, Hoshi?" Liz asked.

"It's a calling card of some sort," Hoshi answered, her eyes on the characters. "A courtesan's name, and a set of numbers."

"A com-code?"

"I don't think so. It isn't in the right format for that. Maybe directions?"

Liz snorted. "You mean to tell me one of the guys dropped it?"

"Had to be. I wonder who it was." Hoshi frowned at the thought of Malcolm having a courtesan card, but she shook her head. _It's not like you have a permanent hold on the man. He's a good friend, that's all. It's not like you're married to him or anything. _But a little voice in her head wailed, _Yeah, but—_

"I bet it's Trip's. He's always had a way with the ladies. I mean, he got that fabric artisan to make him that horrid-looking tunic in less than an hour." Liz put a hand on her shoulder. "Honestly, I don't see Malcolm or the captain carrying that around. And _Chef_? Can you imagine a courtesan giving him one of those? He really had to whip up one hell of a meal for her."

"Filled with aphrodisiacs and spices," Hoshi said with an evil grin. "And a hefty slice of _mokka_."

Liz grinned back. "Uh-oh. Why do I have the feeling you've got some kind of naughty idea?"

Hoshi's smile just widened a fraction, but she didn't say anything else.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:) "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" has always been one of my favorite movies and it seemed only fitting to mention it in an ENT fic about chocolate!**

**And as the mother of two kids under 5 years old, I had to mention Winnie the Pooh!**

**Italian words (from Chef): amore (love), ragazzi (as in "Ciao, ragazzi!" means "Hi/Bye, everyone!" or "Hi/Bye, ya'll!"), "Ciao a Tutti!" (Hello/Greetings/Salutations to all!")**

**Pairing: This chapter, R/S. Other pairings in later chapters.**

**Rating: T**

**Please read and review! Thanks!

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**Three**

Monday night was Movie Night. Trip arranged it to be a double feature: _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and _Chocolat. _Granted, neither movie promised huge explosions, but Hoshi managed to convince Malcolm to go. She spent the day in the Galley with Chef, translating and organizing the Dnayun recipes. Like everything else, the culinary creations were beautiful and delicious, but took several hours to prepare. She couldn't imagine a better way to spend her day off, unless she was learning a brand new language, which she was.

Chef combined his pastry skills with the _mokka_ and the results were stunning. A three-tiered _mokka_ cake for the centerpiece, decorated with whipped cream and cherries, surrounded by piles of the triangular-shaped candy, small rounds of chocolate cheesecake and muffins. Hoshi poured the ingot-shaped, maroon-wrapped candy in a clear glass bowl.

"There's enough for everyone on board to have at least one," she said. "There are ninety pieces."

"Then we have to make sure all who are currently on duty has a piece," Chef said. "I will recruit Crewman Cunningham to help me distribute the candy."

"Thanks, Chef." She sighed and looked around the decorated Mess Hall. "This is going to be a special night; I can feel it."

"Ah, _amore_," he said in a knowing tone. "However did you manage to get Signor Reed to say yes to this event?"

"I bribed him," Hoshi replied with a smile, then she wandered away, leaving a curious Chef in her wake. She headed for her quarters and ran into Liz Cutler on the way. Liz wore a blue silk blouse and black slacks, her brown hair held back by a simple blue band. Liz grinned at Hoshi and waved.

"It's all ready," Hoshi said. "All I have to do is get ready in time for Malcolm to come pick me up."

"What're you wearing?" Liz asked. "That red dress you got from Dnayun?"

She nodded. "It's got a lot of ties and straps on it. Mind if you give me a hand?"

Liz grinned widely. "Sure. Don't want to uncover anything you don't want uncovered, right?"

Hoshi blushed and motioned Liz into her cabin. Luckily no one was in the corridor to hear Liz's remark.

* * *

"Hey, Cunningham, nice of you to stop by!" called Lieutenant Anna Hess. She waved as the captain's steward left the Engineering deck and brought her attention to the wrapped chocolate in her hand. The piece was smaller than most candies she was used to; barely the length of half her pinky finger. Yet the most wonderful aroma tickled her nose: chocolate with a touch of spiciness, like the Mexican blend of cocoa her father brought home after his long trips. She unwrapped the foil with nimble fingers and popped the candy into her mouth. The taste exploded on her tongue and she leaned against the railing in reaction.

_Wow! This thing has a kick! But it's so wonderful! _A sense of euphoric bliss came over her; she felt like she was standing in a warm beam of sunlight after a night's rain. Slowly, it faded, but it still left a rosy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Wow," muttered Crewman Rostov. He looked about as stunned as she felt. "I gotta get the recipe from Cunningham. He'd give Chef a run for his money."

"That, or he'll have every woman on board running after him for another piece," Hess quipped, "and I wouldn't blame them a bit."

* * *

Lieutenant Capetl from Astrometrics brought the candy close to his face. "I hope you aren't trying to give me some kind of message, Antonio."

Chef laughed, a bass rumble that attracted the rest of the on-duty Astrometrics team. "No, no, _Tenente _Capetl! This is a token of goodwill from our friends the Dnayuns, a piece of delicious _mokka_ to tempt your taste buds."

"Smells divine," murmured Ensign Mujera. She eagerly accepted her piece and smelled it, as if inhaling a fragrant bouquet of wine. "Floral smell, like someone dipped a rose petal in chocolate."

"You should've been a poet," Capetl groused, but he smiled as he said it.

"Poetry is in my blood, _Tenente_," she said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter if it's a piece of candy or a double-barreled spiral galaxy. Though given the two, I'll take the candy first."

Chef laughed again as the rest of the Astrometrics team each took a piece out of the glass tray. "A woman after my own heart. Well, I must make more deliveries before the start of Movie Night in the Mess Hall. I'm glad that I was able to lighten your day, _ragazzi. Ciao a tutti!"_

"Ciao!" "See ya later, Chef!" called the team as Chef took his tray of delights elsewhere. Capetl sighed and tucked the morsel in his jumpsuit pocket. He wanted to get back to his data analyses; Subcommander T'Pol wanted them by the end of the shift.

"All right, let's get back to work!" he called. Several of his people had already consumed their _mokka_ and were chattering about how each person had tasted a different flavor. Mujera said she'd had the scent of roses flood her nose as she ate her piece. Bellings claimed that his had a touch of vanilla. Navarrette was convinced she had mint in hers.

Capetl was tempted to try his, but told himself it could wait after he got off-shift. It would be a reward for a job well done, providing his analyses met up to Subcommander T'Pol's exacting standards.

He sighed and went back to his console. This was going to be a long evening.

* * *

"What a delightful movie!" Phlox said, as the lights came up after _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. _He smiled at Liz, who sat next to him. "The boy, Charlie, inherited the candy factory because of his honesty and fortitude. Definitely a good tale for children!"

"It's always been one of my favorite movies," said Liz. "My sister thought the Ooompa-Loompas were kinda cute." She hummed a snatch of the "Ooompa Loompa Song", much to the amusement of the people around them.

"And what about the part when that girl swelled up into a grape-like thing?" Trip put in. "When I was a kid, I couldn't touch bubble gum for the longest time after I saw this movie for the first time.. Kinda worried I would puff up like a balloon if I chewed it too long."

Phlox chuckled and waved a finger. "The Denobulan Huffalump exudes a toxin that when ingested in large amounts, causes fluid build-up in the body. But the smallest drop or two is used to flavor medicines for children."

"Huffalump?" Trip repeated. "Like in the Winnie the Pooh stories?"

At Phlox's confused look, Liz laughed and tried to describe the elephant-like Heffalump in the A.A. Milne stories. The Denobulan brightened as he finally understood. "I don't know who this Milne was, but he must have been to Denobula. That is exactly how the Huffalump looks like!"

Trip blinked, then burst out into raucous laughter. He turned to see Malcolm sitting there, rolling his eyes, and said, "C'mon, Malcolm! Don't tell me that your mama never read you bedtime stories!"

Malcolm groaned and was about to say something when the intercom beeped. "Armory to Lieutenant Commander Reed."

He walked quickly to the com and said, "Reed here."

"Sir, we've got a problem."

Malcolm sighed and shot an apologetic look at Hoshi. She glared at him. _Don't you dare_, her eyes seemed to say.

"What's the problem?"

"Um...we were cleaning the phase pistols and rifles like you ordered, Lieutenant Commander, and...well, we're missing a few pistols."

"_Missing a few_?" His voice was a low growl. Such sloppiness was abominable! "Define 'a few', Crewman Michaels."

Michaels gulped audibly on the line. "Three, sir."

"How the bloody hell could you lose three phaser pistols?" He kept his tone low, but cold anger ran through it. Out of the corner of his shoulder, he saw Hoshi there. She'd overheard the conversation, and was now standing there, biting her lip.

"I–I don't know, sir. We've done a search for them, but they're not in the Armory, and no one has signed them out..."

"I want a thorough scan of the decks, Ensign. Three missing phase pistols in the wrong hands is a danger to the ship and crew. I'll be there momentarily."

"Yes, sir." Michaels closed the channel with a snap.

Malcolm sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he turned to Hoshi. "Hoshi, I—"

"I understand, Malcolm. This is something you need to take care of." She managed a smile. "I'll save you some chocolate and _mokka_."

"I owe you one, luv," he murmured. He squeezed her shoulder, then headed for the doors.

Hoshi watched him go and sighed. _Damn. Ah, well_. _I suppose I'll have to enjoy the evening by myself, then. At least I still have Liz, Trip and Phlox to keep me company. _

She was so upset that she hadn't noticed he'd called her "luv".

And she didn't know that events were about to take a strange turn.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:) Sorry, it's taken so long to update this story...stuff called "real life" happens and I had a massive case of writer's block on this one. I also blame "universe jumping" too. (sheepish look) Hope this was worth the wait. :)**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! Thanks.**

**Rating: T**

**Pairing: R/S

* * *

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**Four**

"I do not understand this...obsession."

Lieutenant Travis Mayweather glanced over his shoulder at Subcommander T'Pol. The Vulcan watched as Crewman Cunningham rang the chime of the captain's Ready Room. They all heard Archer's muffled response, then Cunningham entered, letting the door slide shut behind him.

"'Obsession', Subcommander?" Travis asked, confused.

"Yes, Lieutenant. This obsession with a food substance." T'Pol held the maroon-foil wrapped chocolate to the light. Her mouth was pulled down in a grimace of distaste.

Despite himself, Travis snorted in laughter, and T'Pol turned her disdainful look on him. "Sometimes it's just a personal preference, Subcommander. In the case of chocolate, there _has_ been evidence that the chemicals make people feel good."

T'Pol nodded at the scientific explanation. "Endorphins."

"Yeah. Chocolate has anti-oxidants in its chemical make-up too," Travis went on. "So it's supposed to be good for your health...I think dark chocolate is supposed to be the best." He decided to change the subject slightly. "Do Vulcans have a sweet tooth?"

She didn't quite shrug, but he could hear the grudging agreement in her tone. "There are desserts in Vulcan cuisine, Lieutenant, but personally, I do not enjoy them, as most are too sweet for my taste. I have sampled some Human desserts, like cake, but I would prefer not to indulge too often."

"Too bad." Travis unwrapped his piece and popped it into his mouth. "When I was growing up on the _Horizon_, we took a shipment of Ndaian spice to Aldeberan once. Just the _smell_ of the stuff was addictive. Paul and I took turns sitting in front of the cargo bay doors just to savor the aroma."

T'Pol raised an eyebrow and replied, "I believe Ndaian spice has a rather...hallucinogenic effect on the human brain, specifically the male brain."

"Well, yeah, but no one knew that then. Mom and my sister Lina thought we were nuts. Luckily, we reached Aldeberan and off-loaded the stuff before either of us did anything stupid. I think my dad ended up sleeping in the Mess Hall during that week 'cause my mom was mad at him for some reason." Travis chuckled and shook his head, then suddenly his eyes widened. "Whoa—"

The drastic change made T'Pol concerned. "Lieutenant? Are you well?" When he didn't answer immediately, she asked, "Shall I call Sickbay?"

Travis shook his head and held up a hand to stop her. "No, no, Subcommander...I'm all right, it's just...whew!" He blinked and swallowed a few times. "That's a powerful piece of candy! I thought for a minute I tasted some cinnamon and a touch of spiced curry. That'll wake you up in a heartbeat." His expression turned sunny once more. "I gotta ask Cunningham where he got it. This stuff's pretty good."

Just then, the door opened and Cunningham walked out with his glass dish of chocolates. Archer said something that Travis didn't catch, but T'Pol did, and she raised her eyebrow again. Cunningham chuckled in response and said, "I don't think that'll be good for Porthos, sir. I think chocolate's bad for dogs, isn't it?"

"It's supposed to be," Archer agreed, "but for some reason he's bent on getting a piece. You'd think it was covered with cheese or something. Don't worry, Crewman, I'll keep it away from Porthos."

"Thank you, sir." The Ready Room doors closed, cutting off Archer's reply. Cunningham nodded at T'Pol and was heading back to the lift, when he turned back to Travis. "Hoshi got the _mokka_ from the Dnayu chocolatier, Lieutenant. The chef gave her a free tray and she asked me to distribute it among the crew."

Travis blinked. "How'd you know I was gonna ask that?"

"Because everyone's been asking me that, and everyone wants another piece." Cunningham laughed and added, "Well, I think Chef's got a healthy supply of it now, so it'll be back."

"Great. I'd hate to think something this good was just a one-shot deal."

"Yeah, that's what everyone else thinks too." Cunningham stepped into the lift. "Good night, everyone."

The Gamma shift bridge crew returned the greeting. Travis glanced back at T'Pol , who seemed to be studying her piece of _mokka_, which was holding up considerably well, since it was warm on the bridge.

"You gonna eat that or are you gonna analyze it first, Subcommander?" Travis asked, his tone both curious and teasing.

T'Pol looked back at him and said, "Perhaps it would not be harmful if I consume a little amount of sucrose." Then with a gracefulness that surprised Travis, she unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth, closing her eyes to enhance the experience. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and murmured, "Fascinating."

"What?" Travis asked. He wasn't the only one who was curious; the entire Gamma crew was staring at her. "How was it?"

"I experienced a childhood memory. _Rat'sieka_." Seeing Travis's curiosity, she clarified, "A summer treat for Vulcan children, made of _saya_ and other types of fruit. It is refreshing, but not overly saccharine. I was able to eat it because I found the taste...agreeable."

"And you thought it tasted like this _rat'sieka_?" Travis asked.

"I believe my brain interpreted the chemicals in the _mokka_ as similar and linked it to my memory."

"Makes sense, if it tasted different for everybody." Travis glanced around the bridge and received nods of affirmation. "It probably reminded us of pleasant flavors we've experienced in the past."

T'Pol nodded and looked at the crumpled-up foil, which she still held in her hand. "I would be curious to discover how this is possible. I believe this is the first time I have heard of a food substance with this strong of an effect on both Humans and Vulcans."

"Maybe you can write a paper on it," Travis joked, then winced as he realized that T'Pol might be offended. He didn't have to worry about it, for she was busy at her console, arranging a chemical analysis of the remnants of the _mokka_ on the foil.

* * *

It took a negative scan of the ship, a thorough checking of the records, and a precise recounting the supply of phase pistols in the Armory, but finally, Malcolm and his team came up with the correct number. It turned out that the three pistols hadn't been missing after all.

_Bloody brilliant. I had to ruin my enjoyable evening with Hoshi for a false alarm,_ Malcolm groused. A part of him, the security officer, reminded him that it was better safe than sorry, and that he'd much rather have had a false alarm now than a potentially dangerous situation later. He said as much to his staff, who were embarrassed at the mix-up.

"I would've sworn that three were missing, sir," said Crewman Michaels. His face was as red as an overripe tomato. "I'm sorry."

"Better for us to find out now than later, Crewman," Malcolm assured him. "Now, if there are no further crises, real or imagined—"

"Of course, sir."

Malcolm headed for the door, but before they closed behind him, he thought he heard one of his Gamma shift team mutter, "Someone didn't get their chocolate tonight."

_Yes, well, I suppose I should remedy that lack right now,_ he thought. _If Hoshi still isn't mad at me for having to deal with an imaginary phase pistol thief. _Hoshi would understand, though. She always did. But he still hesitated in front of her door, for he wasn't sure whether or not he'd still be in her good graces.

The door opened, startling him. Hoshi was there, still in the red dress she'd gotten at the Marketplace, with a bright smile. He relaxed and said, "I'm sorry, Hoshi, it was a false alarm..."

She grabbed his upper arms and pulled him towards her, surprising him with a passionate kiss. The rational part of his brain (the part still able to think, anyway) identified the taste on her lips: fruity, not unpleasantly so, and sweet. _Pineapple? I hadn't thought the Dnayu would have used an Earth fruit in their _mokka...

That was all he had time for before she pulled him through the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:)**

**The mystery deepens. What's going on?**

**Pairings: Phlox/Cutler, R/S implied.**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! Thanks.**

**Rating: T

* * *

**

**Five**

Doctor Phlox turned at the sound of whistling and saw Crewman Cutler come through the Sickbay doors. "Ah, you're in a good mood, Crewman!"

"I slept pretty well, Phlox," she replied with a grin. "I guess a night off and some good chocolate works wonders."

He chuckled and said, "I did sample that piece of _mokka_ and I found it quite pleasant indeed. It tasted like _jujora_, a delicious treat for Denobulan children. I remember my sister used to make it for all of the children in our family. Her recipe was very popular." He shrugged. "I could never get the ratios quite correct, so mine never turned out as well as hers. I'm more than happy to leave the cooking to her."

Liz smiled. Phlox chatted a lot about his family back on Denobula and she always enjoyed listening to his stories. "_Jujora_? Can you describe what it tastes like?"

He thought for a moment, then replied, "I suppose a combination of Earth's strawberry with a hint of orange and mint would be the best way to describe it. I used to eat so much of it as a boy; I ended up with an upset stomach a lot, much to my father's chagrin." He laughed and shook his head. "Crewman, I wanted to inform you that those samples you wanted have arrived."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, good! No offense, Phlox, but I'm always glad to do some work in my specialty. You don't run into many bugs in deep space."

Phlox nodded. "No offense taken, Crewman. I've put them in the medical lab and set up all the equipment. Enjoy yourself." He watched as she literally skipped to the lab, pulled open the door and disappeared into it. Her unbridled enthusiasm was contagious and he found himself humming a tune to himself.

The sickbay doors opened again and Phlox turned. "Lieutenant! What can I do for you today?"

Malcolm Reed winced and put a hand on his right shoulder. "I think I might have pulled a muscle in my shoulder, Doctor."

"Let me take a look at it." Reed sat on the biobed as Phlox ran his scanner over him. "Ah, you are correct. It seems that you pulled the muscle between your shoulder and your neck. A muscle relaxer should help." As he reached for the hypospray, he asked, "Is this the result of a training exercise?"

Reed blushed. "Ah, no, not exactly, but I didn't really notice it until I ran a few phase pistol drills with the Armory crew. That's when it became a real bother."

"I see." Phlox noticed that he hadn't answered the question. Judging from the lieutenant's coloring, it was better not to ask. "There, that should do it."

"Thank you, Doctor. It feels a lot better."

"If there are any complications, please don't hesitate to come back."

"I won't, Doctor."

As the morning went on, other crewmembers came in for minor ailments: upset stomachs from indulging in too much _mokka_ the night before, minor burns from Engineering, a few bumps and bruises from off-loading mishaps in Cargo Bay Two. Phlox thought the high case of accidents was quite unusual, so he called Captain Archer.

"I sent some crew members down when they complained of headaches and stomachaches," Archer confirmed. "It seemed to pass pretty quickly and they haven't had any problems since."

"Captain, are you feeling well?"

"I'm feeling fine, Doctor. Porthos was sulking this morning because I wouldn't give him any _mokka_, but other than that, he's fine too." The captain's tone became concerned. "Do you think there might be something going around the crew?"

"It's difficult to say, but perhaps it is just one of those days when accidents seem to happen."

"Keep me informed, Doctor. If there _is_ something, I'd like to be the first to know."

"Of course, Captain." As soon as Phlox closed the com channel, he turned to see Crewman Rostov limping through the door with Commander Tucker supporting him on one side. "Mister Rostov! What has happened?"

Rostov muttered something under his breath in Russian, then translated it into English. "I'm convinced that damn spanner of yours is cursed, sir. Every time I use it, it tries to eat me."

Trip couldn't help grinning. "And you wonder why I won't let you borrow it?"

"Gentlemen," Phlox interrupted.

"Sorry, Doc." Trip helped Rostov onto the biobed. "Mike was helping me in one of the conduits. He bumped his head on the ceiling, then slipped on a tool that was lying around—"

"That damn spanner—"

"—and it flew up and socked him in the knee. I think he whacked it pretty good."

Rostov winced as Phlox carefully pulled the right leg of his jumpsuit up to examine the bruise. "I believe the Commander's initial impression is correct, Mister Rostov. It appears that your right knee has sustained a considerable bruise. Crewman Cutler?"

"Doctor?" Liz asked as she stuck her head out of the lab.

"Will you fetch a cold compress for Mister Rostov? He's bruised his knee."

"Of course, Doctor."

Phlox worked gently but efficiently to ease Rostov's pain. He noticed Commander Tucker's look of concern; at least, the engineer hadn't ended up in Sickbay today—

The com went off again. "Subcommander T'Pol to Doctor Phlox."

He sighed and hit the com button with his elbow, then continued his ministrations without stopping. "Phlox here."

"I require your presence in Science Lab Two."

"Acknowledged, Subcommander. I will be there in five minutes."

"That is acceptable. T'Pol, out."

A soft hand touched his wrist. "I can handle this for you, Phlox. You go and see what the subcommander wants."

He glanced at Liz in surprise. Her hand felt warm and comforting on his skin. He knew that Liz was aware that Denobulans didn't like being touched in a casual manner, but right now, that didn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, it felt rather...nice.

She seemed to misinterpret his gaze. "I need some practice in this kind of work, Phlox, if I'm going to be your emergency medic."

He nodded and handed her the hypospray. Of course, he really didn't need to do so, but he found that he wanted any excuse to touch her. "Very well, Liz. Crewman Rostov, she'll take good care of you. Just be careful in the conduits next time."

Rostov nodded and managed a grin, in spite of his pain. "Sure, Doc. I'm not touching that spanner ever again."

Tucker laughed and said, "I'm holdin' ya to that, Mike."

As Phlox left Sickbay, he became aware of Tucker's curious gaze at his back. For some reason, that stirred up a wave of irritation. _She will be just fine,_ he told himself. _Liz is a competent medic. I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to become a doctor herself someday.

* * *

_

Subcommander T'Pol sat at one of the lab computers and looked up as Phlox entered the room. "Thank you for coming so promptly, Doctor."

He nodded. "What can I help you with, Subcommander?"

"Does this compound look familiar to you?" She turned the screen so he could see it clearly. "I was running a chemical analysis on the _mokka_ that Lieutenant Sato brought from Dnayu. This is not in any database from Vulcan Medical or Starfleet Medical, and I was curious whether or not _you_ recognized it."

Phlox studied the diagram for a long moment, then slowly shook his head. "I can't say I've seen it before. Perhaps there is something in the Denobulan medical database. This was in the _mokka_ from last night, you say?"

"Yes. There was trace remnants on the foil of the candy I consumed last night. I believe it triggered a pleasant memory from my childhood, one that involved all of the senses."

"That wouldn't surprise me, for the Dnayuns consider sensory pleasure an art, just like any other part of their culture." He frowned. "I must admit that I experienced something like you did, Subcommander...the taste reminded me of a Denobulan sweet that my sister makes for her children."

She nodded, and Phlox thought she saw a hint of relief. "Then the effect is not unusual."

"It appears to be." He gazed at the diagram with interest. "Do you believe there may be other hidden effects?"

"Unknown, but I would like to pursue this line of inquiry further."

He smiled and reply, "Would you mind transferring your data to my office computer? I would like to assist you in this. If anything, it would satisfy my curiosity, if nothing else."

"I will do that immediately, Doctor."

"Thank you, Subcommander." He inclined his head to her in gratitude, then left the lab. He wondered if Liz had finished treating Rostov, and if Tucker would have helped the unfortunate engineer back to his cabin...

The thought brought him up short, and he frowned. What was he thinking? Liz Cutler was an attractive woman, for sure, and of course, there were a limited number of Human males on a ship of eighty-three people. He was quite fond of her, but he preferred to think of her as a friend and nothing more than that.

Still...he felt another spike of unease at the thought of her alone in Sickbay with Rostov and Tucker...

His steps quickened as he headed back to Sickbay.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:)**

**Pairings: Hess/Rostov, a bit of TnT, A/T (at least, that's what Trip suspects, though it isn't), R/S.**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! Thanks.**

**Rating: T

* * *

**

**Six**

Trip Tucker nodded as Lieutenant Anna Hess finished up a routine repair on the secondary environmental circuits. "Thanks for doin' this. I know this isn't your shift."

"Well, I heard Mike got his knee hurt and I thought I'd help out," Hess said. "How's he doing?"

"Restin' comfortably in his quarters. Half of the department's been by to see if he needs anythin'."

Hess nodded and said, "I'd better go check up on him, then. Just in case."

"I think he'd really appreciate that, Anna," Trip said. He watched as his second-in-command disappeared down the access ladder to the lower deck. _Hmmm...somethin' going on here I don't know about? _He inclined his head, then chuckled. _Naaah. Anna and Mike? They're at each other's throats all the time. She's more likely to push him out an airlock. Still, that's a nice gesture, checkin' up on him after he got nailed by that spanner—huh? Wait a minute._

There, at the edge of the deck, lay the spanner in question. Trip frowned and picked it up. It had to be someone else's, since he'd put his own in his toolbox so no one else would stumble over it. But, he ran his finger along one edge of it and felt his initials scratched on the side: _CT III_. On its other side was another set of initials: _IS 2148_.

_Yeah, I oughta give Isabel her spanner back sometime,_ he thought with a nostalgic smile, _but it'll be a while, so I gotta take care of it for her. Keep it away from spanner thieves like Mike. _He chuckled again and put the spanner in his belt, then climbed down the ladder.

"Archer to Tucker."

Trip headed for the wall com. "Tucker here, Cap'n."

"Trip, I need to see you in my Ready Room right away."

"On my way, Cap'n."

* * *

Ten minutes later, he gave Jon Archer and T'Pol a look of disbelief. "Come again?" he asked. 

T'Pol didn't quite sigh, but she gave Trip a look of exasperation. "I asked whether or not you have noticed anything amiss in the behavior patterns of your engineering staff."

He thought for a long moment. "Well, Mike Rostov slipped on my spanner in the conduits and needed help gettin' to Sickbay. Some of the guys in Cargo Bay 2 accidentally moved the wrong cargo container and the whole row fell on 'em. Hess asked about Rostov's condition, but that's 'cause she was concerned about him. But nothin' serious, like anyone going crazy or anythin' like that."

"Have you heard anything from the Armory this morning?" Jon asked.

Trip frowned. "Come to think of it, no. Then again, doesn't Malcolm have the day off today?"

"So does Hoshi. So does Travis," added Jon.

"All three of them on the same day? That's kinda weird. They're not sick or anything, are they?"

T'Pol shook her head and said, "There has been an unusual number of accidents of board the ship since we left Dnayu. Also, there has also been an alarming rate of shift-trading among the crew. Other department heads have noticed subtle differences in the behavior of their subordinates, not drastic, but enough to be noticed."

Trip frowned as he digested the information. "You're sayin' the crew's under the influence of somethin'? Like a drug?"

Jon and T'Pol glanced at each other, and Trip saw some kind of unspoken communication between the two. _What the hell's going on here? Never seen the two of 'em share that kinda expression before. There somethin' goin' on I don't know about?_ Trip was surprised at the surge of jealousy that accompanied that thought. _Whoa. Hold yer horses, Tucker._

The captain turned his attention back to Trip. "When you had the _mokka_ last night, did you experience any...strange effects?"

The engineer shrugged and said, "The piece I had tasted like pecans covered in chocolate. At Chef's little reception at the dining hall, I sat with Hoshi, Liz and Phlox and we had some of the cookies and the cake. Gave me quite a sugar buzz, kinda like when I've had too many cups of coffee..."

Again, Jon and T'Pol traded glances, then T'Pol asked, "Who was at the reception?"

Trip nearly retorted his answer, then he remembered that neither T'Pol nor Jon had been there. He forced his tone to be calm. "Let's see...everyone who attended Movie night...Mike Rostov, Anna Hess, me, Liz, Phlox, Hoshi, Ensign Mueller from the Armory, Ethan Novakovich..." He frowned. "Malcolm was there for the first movie, but then he got called away to the Armory for an emergency."

"Did everyone eat their piece of _mokka_, in addition to what was at the reception?" asked T'Pol.

Trip tried to remember. "I think so, wait—no. Ensign Trace and Crewman Vishna are both allergic to chocolate, so they gave their pieces to other people, and they opted for the non-_mokka_ treats at the reception. As I said, Malcolm left early, and I hadn't seen him eat his, but he could've done it later."

"I have asked Doctor Phlox to do physical scans of some crewmembers who ingested the _mokka_, myself included," T'Pol said. "He should have those scans analyzed by now."

"Let's check." Jon tapped the com button on his desk. "Archer to Phlox."

The Denobulan's answer was immediate. "Phlox here, Captain."

"Doctor, do you have your scans completed?" T'Pol asked.

"I have just completed them, and there have been some rather disturbing results. I was about to call you to Sickbay."

Jon and Trip exchanged looks. "We're on our way, Doctor. Archer, out."

They went to the Ready Room door, expecting it to open for them, but Archer walked right into it. He staggered back, holding his hand. "Ow!" he yelled. "What the—"

"Are you injured, Captain?" asked T'Pol. She put a steadying hand on his arm as Archer tried to regain his balance. Trip frowned as her hand remained on that arm a second longer than necessary.

"Just my pride, T'Pol," he said ruefully. "I don't remember setting the locking mechanism."

Trip opened his mouth, but caught himself again before he said something stupid. T'Pol touched the controls, but nothing happened. "The door is not locked. The control mechanism is jammed, Captain."

"Let me at 'em. I oughta be able to hotwire 'em open," Trip said, and he proceeded to open the panel and fiddle with the circuits.

"Armory to Captain Archer."

Jon went back to the com button and pushed it. "Archer."

"Sir, the Armory doors are jammed shut. No one can get in or out," came the heavily Germanic voice of Ensign Mueller. "I've alerted Lieutenant Commander Reed, but he's not answering his page."

"Malcolm's not answering a call from the Armory?" Trip repeated in a tone of utter astonishment. "Bernhard, you sure?"

"I've called everywhere I could think of, Commander Tucker: his quarters, the Mess Hall, the Observation Lounge, the gym—"

"Where the hell could he be??" Trip burst out. Suddenly, he remembered the look on Hess's face when she asked about Rostov, then his mind made a completely illogical leap. He sighed and looked back at Jon, who seemed to be coming to the same conclusion. "Um, Bernhard—"

"Sir?"

"Did you try Lieutenant Sato's quarters?"

There was an awkward silence on the com. T'Pol raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. Finally, Mueller stammered, "Uh, no sir. I didn't think to—"

"Try there. If she's not answering her com, you might as well send a team to pick Malcolm up," Jon said with a resigned look on his face. "We're having trouble with the Ready Room door, so it might be a little while before we can help."

"Ah, yes, sir. Mueller, out." The channel snapped shut. Trip shook his head; he didn't envy Bernhard's job, having to interrupt his boss on his day off. Then again...

The com erupted again. "Skosky to Commander Tucker. We're having trouble with the doors to Cargo Bay Two—"

"Lemme guess. Jammed shut?"

"No, sir. Jammed _open_. We can't get them closed."

Trip swore under his breath, not caring that his superior officers were within hearing range. "Page Hess. If she's not there, call Kelby. I'm doin' some repair work on the Bridge, so I'll finish up here and get there as soon as I can."

"Yes, sir. Skosky, out."

Trip shook his head and twisted two wires together. "There, that should do it—"

Seconds passed. Then a full minute. The Ready Room doors stayed closed.

Trip's face fell. "Wait a minute—that was _supposed _to work—"

T'Pol looked as irritated as a Vulcan could be. "We might call Phlox and have him relay the results of his analyses that way."

Archer nodded, then switched channels yet again. "Archer to Sickbay." There was no answer, then Archer repeated the call, with no response.

"It seems like we've got some kinda gremlin'," Trip said. He flashed a smile at T'Pol. "Don't worry, darlin'. We're gonna get outta here so you can get to your data. Just gimme a little more time."

"Thank you...Trip." She looked over at Captain Archer and mouthed, _Darlin'?_

Archer sighed and covered his eyes with his hand. It was going to be a long afternoon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:)**

**Pairings: Liz/Phlox, R/S, Hess/Rostov (um...sorta)**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! Thanks.**

**Rating: T

* * *

**

**Seven**

"You know what this reminds me of?"

"What?" Liz Cutler asked. She kept her gaze riveted to the person above her. Travis Mayweather climbed the emergency ladder on the side of the turbolift shaft. They'd been stuck in the lift together on the way to Sickbay. Travis and Liz had managed to climb through the emergency hatch at the top of the lift and reached the ladder.

_Now if the power doesn't come back on while we're still in the shaft, we should be okay,_ Liz thought. Then she heard Phlox's voice in her mind, _Have a little optimism, Liz!_

"Remember when we were in the Expanse and we had all of those weird blorphs move through the ship?"

"You mean those weird anomaly thingies?" Liz shivered at the memory of those singularities moving through _Enterprise_, blowing out power couplings and distorting access ladders.

"Yeah, this whole thing seems like one big screwed-up anomaly."

Liz grunted in response. "You think this might be cause by one of those things?"

"Dunno, but that's the only thing I can think of—" Travis paused and swore, "Damn."

Her fear spiked sharply. "What's wrong?"

"What deck are we on? I lost count."

"You lost count?" She sounded astonished. "_You_, the helmsman with the inner sense of direction, _forgot_ where we are? The ship isn't that big."

He bristled and replied, "I was a bit distracted. Can you see the deck markings on the side of the shaft?"

She sighed and glanced downward. It was a long way down; she almost wished she hadn't. The glowing letters were easily seen through the gloom. "E Deck. The next hatch should be the one leading to the corridor to Sickbay."

"Okay...I see it. Hang on, Liz, I'm gonna try to get this hatch open." Travis shifted his weight on the ladder, then gripped the door handle with his right hand. "It's stuck. I'm need some help."

"All right, move over and I'll squeeze in next to you." He did so, and together, they managed to turn the latch. Travis pushed his shoulder against the hatch, then it popped open. They climbed out of the shaft and onto the brightly lighted deck.

"Sickbay," Liz said, and headed for that direction. Suddenly, her vision swam, and out of nowhere, she smelled snow and tasted sweet maple syrup on her tongue. She was back in her childhood in New England, and the frozen lake ahead beckoned, and she couldn't wait to skate on its slick surface...

Then she blinked and she saw the Sickbay doors ahead of her. They didn't open as they approached. Dazed, she waved her hand in front of it, then made her hand into a fist and rapped her knuckles on it. The door stayed closed.

"Phlox!" she yelled. "Phlox! You okay?"

The Denobulan's voice was clear through the transparent door. "Liz? I'm all right; the door is jammed and communications are out. Something is happening; there might be people hurt on the various decks."

"Doctor?" Travis called. "We were stuck in the turbolift and had to climb through the emergency shaft."

"Lieutenant Mayweather? I would appreciate it if you could send word to Engineering about the situation." If Liz hadn't known better, she would've thought Phlox sounded irritated. "Liz, can you gather a small team and start checking people, deck by deck? I am trapped in here and can't do it myself."

"No problem, Phlox. I'll get right on it." She and Travis exchanged looks, then Travis nodded and headed back for the ladder. "Just one thing—"

"What is it?"

"A minute ago, I thought I was back home, I mean in New England...I saw a frozen lake and I had my skates on and—"

Phlox said nothing for a long moment, then said, "A childhood memory...am I correct?" Liz nodded, though she knew he couldn't see it. "The memories may increase in frequency and duration. There is a compound in the _mokka_ that may affect the higher regions of the Human, Vulcan and Denobulan brain. It is probably one the more active ingredients in the recipe."

"You're saying the Dnayun did something to the chocolate to make us all loopy?"

His voice sounded reassuring. "I don't think they had any malicious intent, Liz. By itself, the ingredient is processed out of the body with little problem. There has to be something that is preventing its absorption, and it is enhancing and strengthening the effects instead. I am continuing my investigation."

Liz nodded again. "I'll get right to checking the other crew members and I'll also see if I can get a hold of the captain and Subcommander T'Pol."

"Thank you, Liz," Phlox said, relieved. "I know I can depend on you."

She blushed at the compliment; though he did compliment her regularly on her skills, she always had the feeling that he _meant_ it. "Thanks, Phlox." She went down the hall, forcing her mind on the business at hand.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Liz had recruited several other people from Life Sciences and Astrometrics as emergency medics. There were minor injuries, mostly bumps and bruises from unexpected tumbles. They'd managed to get the doors to the Armory and the Astrometrics labs open, and the doors to Cargo Bay Two _unstuck._ All in all, the overall damage was minor, though she'd heard that Captain Archer, Subcommander T'Pol and Commander Tucker had been trapped in Archer's Ready Room, and that Ensign Mueller had to pry a surprised (and blissfully unaware) Lieutenant Commander Reed from Lieutenant Sato's quarters. The embarrassed Armory Officer was horrified at the whole situation, but since his and Hoshi's relationship was an "open secret" anyway, no one had been overly surprised. 

Liz smiled to herself, though. The _mokka _and the red dress had obviously done wonders. The incident would be worth a few teases later on.

She'd looked at the captain's wrist (slightly bruised, but nothing serious) and had told him about Phlox's discoveries. Just as she finished applying a bandage to it, the com chimed.

"Hoshi must've gotten it running again," Archer said, but Liz saw that he was trying not to smirk too widely. He touched the button. "Archer."

"Cap'n," replied Trip Tucker. "I got Sickbay's doors to work, but like the Armory and the Cargo Bay, there doesn't seem to be _anythin' _wrong with the doors themselves. Talk about weird. Travis told me 'bout it bein' similar to when we were in the Expanse and we were hit by the blorps."

T'Pol's eyebrows knit together in thought. "There should not be any such singularities in this area of space. This is a well-traveled corridor, with no records of anomalies..." She glanced at Archer. "With your permission, Captain, I will check the sensors to confirm."

"Go ahead, T'Pol. Crewman Cutler and I will be down in Sickbay." Archer nodded at Liz and smiled. "Shall we?"

* * *

Liz and Archer gazed at the results on the screen as Phlox repeated his suspicions to the captain. At the doctor's insistence, she also recounted her memory of the snow and skating. Archer said nothing, only listened with a slight frown. 

"I took a baseline reading of Ensign Trace, for he was one of the few people who did _not_ partake of the _mokka_. His brain chemistry shows completely normal. But this is of Subcommander T'Pol and of Crewman Cutler earlier—" the screen changed. "The Vulcan and Human brains are different, but they both showed increased activity in the limbic region, the cerebral cortex and the amygdala."

"The pleasure area and the impulse control of the brain," Liz murmured.

"Indeed." Phlox sounded pleased at her identification. "The subcommander and I have isolated the compound, and I am formulating a countermeasure to it. We haven't identified which ingredient in the _mokka_ is responsible, however."

Archer nodded. "I'll have Chef and Hoshi work on that. They're the ones who translated the recipe in the first place." He glanced back at Phlox. "Will this affect the crew to the point where we'll need to isolate anyone?"

"Difficult to tell, Captain. It seems that the symptoms are random and unpredictable in some people, and rather, well, constant and obvious in others." If Denobulans blushed, Liz was sure Phlox would be blushing now. "One thing seems to be happening, though: couples who might not have gotten together without the _mokka_'s influence are together now."

"Um." Archer looked like he really didn't want to hear names, though Liz was sure he knew exactly to whom Phlox referred. "All right, Doctor, keep at it. Commander Tucker and his Engineering team are working on the equipment malfunctions and Subcommander T'Pol is pursuing another angle to the problem."

"Yes, Captain."

The com erupted again; Archer turned and gave it a dirty look. "Engineering to Sickbay. Doctor Phlox to Engineering." It was Kelby's voice.

"What is the matter?" Phlox asked.

"Um...we've got a bit of a fistfight down here between Lieutenant Hess and Crewman Rostov, I don't think they're really _hurting _each other badly, but—"

That was enough for Phlox and Archer. "Stay here, Liz," Phlox ordered as he grabbed his medkit and rushed off at Archer's heels.

Liz sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Lover's spat," she muttered.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:)**

**Pairings: Liz/Phlox, R/S, Hess/Rostov (um...sorta), TnT**

**Hoshi and Liz get to the bottom of what's going on...it ain't what it seems.**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! Extra chocolate for those who review! (Cadbury? Aero? Hershey's? Tim Tams? Ghiradelli? Lindt? Godiva? Anyone:) Thanks.**

**Italian: _"Scusi, Elizabetta" _(Excuse me/Pardon me, Elizabeth) and _"Forza, ragazzo!" _(Come on, man!)**

**Rating: T

* * *

**

**Eight**

"I'm telling you, Anna, that all it needs is a good swift kick," Mike Rostov snarled. His face was scarlet from trying to keep his temper in check. "I bet if you tried to check all those circuits, you won't find anything at all."

Lieutenant Anna Hess scowled at him and waved her spanner in his face. "So that's your answer for everything, huh? Just damage it even more. Man, I can't believe Commander Tucker lets you in here, especially after you slipped on his spanner."

Rostov winced as he shifted his weight in his chair. If he'd been standing upright, he'd be nose to nose with her. _Of all the most stubborn, pig-headed, uptight people in the world...she makes Lieutenant Commander Reed seem like a willow in the wind. Why the hell does she have to look so beautiful when she's mad?_

He tapped a button on his PADD. "All right, let's try this again. Check out this analysis. Now, it all seems to be concentrated here, in these sets of—" He straightened up to look at her, but unfortunately, Anna was bent over him to look at the PADD...and the top of his head impacted her nose.

"ARRRRGH!" she screamed and the entire Engineering shift came running. "You clumsy son-of-a--" She smacked his shoulder, which jerked his right arm, which held the PADD and said PADD fell right on her foot. She rubbed her nose, then went for her foot, then aimed a well-placed kick at his uninjured leg. Rostov managed to move at the last moment, so she kicked the panel next to him instead.

The lights in the engine room quit flickering and the warp core settled into a smooth hum, instead of sounding as if it was coughing up hairballs and fishbones. Hess's face dissolved into a stupefied expression, while Rostov only shrugged good-naturedly as he took another scan of the circuits in question. He turned the screen around so she could see the results: normal.

"Told you so," Rostov said. It took six men to restrain Hess from tearing him from limb to limb, and Doctor Phlox arrived just in time to prevent any more damage, mechanical, bodily or otherwise.

* * *

Hoshi stared at the Tactical Screen as T'Pol showed her, Archer, Malcolm and Trip the results of her scan. Hoshi's eyes widened as she saw a fuzzy gray ring envelope _Enterprise_, then release it just as quickly. There seemed to be a regular timing to them and no matter how Travis adjusted the ship's course, the rings seemed to "follow" them.

"Are these things...the reason why everything aboard the ship's malfunctioning?"

"I suspect so. According to Trip's reports," and here, T'Pol brought up the chief engineer's reports on a side screen, "the malfunctions seem tied to our passage through the 'rings'."

"Are they a dire threat to the ship?" came Malcolm's quiet question over Hoshi's shoulder. He seemed over his embarrassment and sounded like his usual Armory Officer persona.

Hoshi realized T'Pol had referred to Commander Tucker as "Trip". Malcolm's expression told her that he'd noticed that too. Trip only had a slight smile on his face, one that reminded Hoshi of the cat who had eaten the canary. _Is there something going on between Trip and T'Pol? What's going on here? _

Suddenly, Malcolm frowned at something on T'Pol's screen. He interrupted, "Look at this. Sub-Commander, can you enlarge section...um..two-thirty-four A?"

"Certainly, Lieutenant." T'Pol tapped buttons and the view zoomed on the area Malcolm had indicated. As the _Enterprise_ went through the "rings", even Hoshi could see small spheres detach themselves from the "rings" and reattach themselves to the hull, like a second skin. Those spheres vibrated in time to the electromagnetic spikes.

Trip scowled at the sight. "What the hell's _that_? Reminds of soap bubbles or bath pearls."

Malcolm smirked and asked him, "How would you know what bath pearls look like?" Trip gave him a dirty look and didn't dignify the question with an answer.

"Unknown," T'Pol answered Trip as she pointedly ignored Malcolm's jibe. "It seems that more of these spheres are accumulating on the ship's hull. They are comprised of pure energy—"

"Pure energy?" Trip asked in an awed voice. "They're probably the cause of the blorps runnin' wild through the ship. We're gonna have to find a way to get rid of them."

Hoshi inclined her head; she thought she heard something on the speakers. "Some kind of...pattern in the background. Not space noise; it's too organized, like a code of some sort."

The men stared at her, but T'Pol nodded. "Yes, I can hear the noise as well. It is too regular to be a random occurrence. Perhaps it is a method of communication."

"Who's tryin' to talk to us?" Trip asked. "And what're they tryin' to say?"

Archer nodded as he made his decision. "Trip, work with Malcolm and T'Pol on finding a defense against these things. Hoshi, see about those translations. We need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. Dismissed."

She nodded back, grateful to finally feel as if she was doing something useful. Ensign Bernhard Mueller's "visit" to her quarters had been spread all over the ship. Poor Bernhard. The ensign had stammered his apologies, but the Armory doors were stuck and the whole ship was going to hell and could his boss _please_ come, and he hoped he didn't need to use a phase pistol or explosives to pry them apart from each other, but he _really_ didn't want to use any more force than he needed to, because Reed would absolutely _kill_ him if Hoshi was hurt, or at least, make him _wish _he was dead, so...

"Bernhard. You're rambling," Hoshi had said, not unkindly. Poor Malcolm had blushed crimson, but he thanked Bernhard for getting him.

How was she going to live this down in front of the crew, especially Malcolm's Armory people? Bernhard was the soul of discretion, but...ah well. At least he'd walked in on a relaxed conversation instead of something more...embarrassing. Hoshi made a mental reminder to make it up to Bernhard sometime.

She hurried to her communications station and pressed the receiver in her ear. She began to listen to the frequencies, moving up and down the bands, shifting frequencies with practiced ease. She closed her eyes to block out the distractions on the Bridge; even Malcolm couldn't distract her now.

_What are you? Who are you? _She thought the questions silently. _What are you doing? And how are you connected to the _mokka_ and what's happening on _Enterprise_? I think the two are connected, but I can't imagine _how_. They're two completely different events. How can a Dnuyan dessert cause EM spikes all over the ship? It just doesn't connect..._

She heard a slight whisper over her earpiece. Her fingers danced across her board as she tried to isolate it. There...right there...no, wait a minute...there was too much interference, too much space noise surrounding it...the channel was nearly clear...almost clear...

Then the response came, the plaintive voice of a child, ringing with curiosity and playfulness.

_Will you be my friend? Can you help me understand?

* * *

_

Crewman Liz Cutler sighed as another wave of patients came through Sickbay. Not only Crewman Rostov and Lieutenant Hess (who'd made up as quickly as they'd been fighting), but some of Reed's Armory crew and a few people from the Galley. A familiar face came through the doors and Liz gasped.

"Chef?" She helped the man to a biobed. "What's wrong?"

"Not...feeling well," Chef muttered. "_Scusi, Elisabetta..."_

Phlox appeared at Chef's other side. "No need to apologize, Chef. Come, we'll take care of you."

They got him onto a biobed and Phlox ran his scanner. "His temperature is pushing thirty-eight degrees Celsius and he's becoming extremely dehydrated. Start an IV drip, Elizabeth, while I give him a broad-spectrum antibiotic and see if I can find out what's causing this."

"Yes, Doctor." As she readied the intravenous drip, her mind was in turmoil. What had affected Chef so suddenly and so badly? Phlox murmured to himself as he took blood samples from Chef and put them in the analyzer. Judging from the doctor's tone, it didn't look good.

"It appears to be some sort of viral infection," Phlox mused aloud, "but I've never seen anything of this nature before..."

_Oh no_, Liz cried silently. _Come on, Chef. Fight it. Forza, ragazzo!_ _Oh God, please, don't let him die!_

Then a tiny voice echoed within her head. _Is there anything I can do to help? What can I do? _

"What—?" Liz asked aloud.

Then her surroundings dissolved.

* * *

She'd been in the "sweet spot" of the ship several times, ever since Travis had shown it to her. Sometimes, she'd come here to get away from the chaos of the ship. It was blessedly quiet, a refuge from the rest of the crew. Even Malcolm appreciated the advantages of this area; they'd made use of its zero-G properties.

This clean, white space reminded Hoshi of the sweet spot. Warm and peaceful, like she was being wrapped inside a downy quilt. She floated free, her arms spread out like an eagle, and she laughed in delight as she did an acrobatic flip.

"Hoshi? You here?"

"Liz?" She glanced over her shoulder to see Liz Cutler drifting some distance behind her. Liz had an look of uncertainty on her face, as if she wasn't sure how to move correctly. "You just need a little push, Liz. Too much and you'll careen past me and into the walls."

"Okay," Liz replied. Have I told you _just _how much I _hate_ zero-G?" She took a deep breath and gave herself a tentative push in Hoshi's direction. She nearly sailed past Hoshi, but Hoshi reached out and pulled her arm. The movement caused both women to drift until they reached one of the walls.

"Where are we?" Hoshi asked. "I was on the Bridge—"

"I was in Sickbay. Chef just came in 'cause he was sick. Some viral infection, Phlox said—"

"Chef's sick?" Hoshi's eyes widened. Liz nodded mutely, her eyes filling with tears. Hoshi gripped her arm in comfort, but not hard enough to send them flying again. "I'm so sorry."

Liz sniffled and said, "I wish I could do something for him—"

_What can I do to help your friend? He makes the most beautiful creations, does he not?_

They looked at each other in silent question. Then Hoshi turned her attention _below_ them and Liz followed her stunned gaze. There, floating upside down with its legs crossed, was a strange figure. Its bulb-shaped head glowed with a faint purplish color, with large eyes framed by long lashes. The slim, rounded body tapered to a point, from which sprouted a sheaf of golden tentacles. Those eyes opened to reveal crystal-clear blue orbs.

_I only wanted to see how you dealt with each other. How you played and what you ate and what you did, in this bird of the stars. _The alien sighed wistfully. _I meant no harm to any of you, but I was curious and I was lonely. I wanted to experience what you felt, but it is all so confusing. Please help me understand._

"You only wanted to get to know us?" Liz asked, her voice hushed. "Why didn't you just ask us?"

_I was afraid_, was the simple answer. _I saw how my presence seemed to change things, make your kind behave...unnaturally and makes your Flying Bird behave...unnaturally. I could not stop it. I felt the anger and the love, the frustration and the happiness. I was scared of it all. One in particular frightened me._

"Who frightened you?" Hoshi inquired, her voice gentle.

_The one who is your mate. He has a Dark Soul, but you bring Light into it. I did not want to hurt him or make him angry; I thought he would be angry if I tried to talk to you, so I did not._

"Malcolm's reasonable, as long as you are straightforward with him. His job is to protect everyone on this ship and if he believes you are a threat, he'll act accordingly."

_I know this, but I did not know how to make him understand. And the substance that your sick friend builds with...my presence seems to change its properties. It makes it what it shouldn't be._

"The _mokka, _Hoshi. She's talking about the _mokka_," Liz said excitedly. "Phlox said that something was interfering with its natural absorption in the body. For some reason, her biochemistry affects that. She must be able to manipulate biofunctions just by her presence."

"Her?" Hoshi asked. "Is that correct? What is your name?"

_You cannot pronounce my name in your language. It is a word that describes a glowing light._

"Like a star?" Hoshi asked, her mouth turning up in a smile. "My name translates as 'star'."

_Yes, something like that. _The voice sounded amused, then just as quickly, turned anxious. _You are not angry at me?_

The being reminded Hoshi and Liz of a frightened child, steeling herself to be punished. "No, Star," Liz said. "We're not angry, but we need to help Chef and find a way to contact you without affecting the ship and the crew. Can you help us find a way?"

There was a pause, then the alien blinked her eyes once, slowly and carefully. _I think I can help, if we work together. Yes, I think it is doable, but it will mean you will have to shine your Light into the Dark Soul and convince him I mean no harm._

The two women gazed at each other and Hoshi's smiled widened. "I think we can do that."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:)**

**Pairings: Liz/Phlox, R/S, TnT**

**Hoshi and Liz are revived using an unorthodox medicine and they must find a way for the crew and "Star" to meet without harm to either side.**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! Extra chocolate for those who review! (Cadbury? Aero? Hershey's? Tim Tams? Ghiradelli? Lindt? Godiva? Anyone:) Thanks.**

**Rating: T**

**Italian: **_**"Dannazione!" (Darn/Damn it!), "Signore Dottore (Doctor), Commandante (Commander, referring to T'Pol and Trip), Capitano (Captain)", "Non sono pazzo! (I'm not crazy!)**_**", **_**zucchero (sugar), "Basta, giovantu! (Enough, children!)","E amore pura" (lit. It's pure—or true—love"), "Scusi (Excuse/pardon me), Elizabetta (Elizabeth)".

* * *

**_

**Nine**

Of course, trying to convince Malcolm was easier said than done.

When Hoshi reappeared on the _Enterprise,_ she found herself in Sickbay, looking at her prone body on the biobed. Next to her, in the next biobed, was the unconscious form of Liz Cutler, and Chef occupied the third bed. Chef's face was still flushed, but he was insisting on something at the top of his lungs, and gesturing wildly at Phlox. Hoshi couldn't hear what he was saying; it was as if she was watching a movie with the sound turned off.

The Sickbay doors opened and Captain Archer came in, with Malcolm and T'Pol in tow. Worry creased Jon's face, his mouth in a tight line. While the captain's emotions were plain to see, the other two were more subdued. T'Pol's eyes were dark in concern and Malcolm...he seemed as impassive as ever, but Hoshi knew better. A sharp pang went through her heart.

Then, the sound came back with a screech, like someone dragged a needle across an old vinyl record. "The scans show they are both hypoglycemic, Captain. Both of their pancreas have slowed production of complex sugars necessary for chemical balance—"

"You mean they're suffering from low blood sugar?"

"I believe I just said that, Captain," Phlox snapped. T'Pol stared at him; he took a deep breath and amended, "Forgive me, I've been under a lot of stress in the past few days—"

"'The cause is sufficient'," T'Pol reassured him, quoting Surak. "I assume you have attempted to correct the imbalance with standard medical procedures?"

From anyone else, Hoshi would have thought T'Pol's question condescending in the extreme. Yet Phlox seemed to take it at face value. "Of course, Sub-Commander, and I also tried some rather...unorthodox methods, but—"

"_Dannazione!" _Chef burst out, finally attracting Phlox's attention. _"_Am I only shouting to myself here? _Signor Dottore, Capitano_, _Commandante, _are you all deaf and well as blind?"

Phlox started, then stared at Chef as if seeing him for the first time. "Chef, you're awake! How do you feel? Please, lie back, you've been sick with a high fever—"

Chef allowed him and Captain Archer to help him lean back among the pillows. "_Non sono pazzo! _I am _not_ crazy! Let me speak!"

"I believe we should hear what he has to say," T'Pol said. "It will calm him."

Hoshi saw Liz Cutler come over to Chef's side, but she realized, as Hoshi had, that no one in the room could see or hear her. Hoshi caught Liz's look of frustration and sorrow as Chef didn't react to her gentle touch.

"Antonio?" Captain Archer asked.

"You say they need _zucchero, _sugar. Then why not _give _them something with sugar in it? Like the _mokka_?"

T'Pol shook her head. "It is not that simple, Antonio. It must be controlled, for too much at once is as detrimental as too little—"

Phlox frowned as he regarded his patients. A smile played on Liz's lips. "Hoshi, he's got an idea, one that'll annoy T'Pol. I can see it."

"Does he do this a lot?" Hoshi asked with a wicked smile.

"Not as much as he'd like. The crew's kinda used to his 'unorthodox' Denobulan cures anyway, so it's a bit harder to shock them anymore."

Chef and T'Pol launched into a mini-argument: the calm, collected T'Pol relying on logic and the emotional, agitated Antonio relying on sweeping hand gestures and an impassioned mix of Italian and English. It was a sight to behold...for it was rare to have T'Pol and Chef in the same _room_, much less debating with each other. Eventually, Antonio's English completely gave way to musical Italian; although T'Pol couldn't understand a word he was saying, Hoshi did, and she laughed aloud.

Poor Captain Archer tried to get a word in edgewise, but was unsuccessful. And as the two combatants' voices rose in pitch, Phlox only crossed to the intercom on the wall and activated it. "Sickbay to Galley...ah, Crewman Figlioni, good morning. No, I do not require sustenance at this moment, but if you would be kind to wake up Crewman Cunningham—"

The Sickbay doors opened and Trip Tucker walked in. He immediately heard the argument, saw Jon's look of complete frustration, and finally shouted at the top of his lungs, "Okay, that's _enough_! _Basta, giovantu!"_

T'Pol and Chef stopped and stared at Trip, who only glared at both of them. Jon gave him a look of gratitude, and opened his mouth to thank him, but Trip barged ahead with a good, old-fashioned Southern dressing-down and didn't give his captain a chance to say anything. Jon rolled his eyes and closed his mouth with a click.

"For God's sake, you two, cut the crap!" He glared at T'Pol first. "Can you put aside your Vulcan superiority complex for once, and can _you—" _he glanced at Chef, "—calm down a minute? Look at Malcolm...he's doin' more for Hoshi than you are, and Phlox's actually _actin_' instead of _reactin'_!"

Everyone had completely forgotten about the silent Armory Officer. Malcolm Reed stood at Hoshi's side, stroking her hair with a gentle hand and murmuring endearments to her in a low voice. The indicators above her head seemed to climb ever so slowly in response. Phlox had moved to Liz's side and copied Malcolm's actions, whispering some words in Denobulan. Liz's spirit-self looked over at Hoshi's spirit-self with eyes brimming with tears. Although Liz didn't understand Phlox's words, the emotion showed itself loud and clear.

"Their actions seem to be effective," T'Pol said, her voice hushed.

"Si. _E amore pura, Commandante," _Chef agreed. He glanced at Trip. "I had no idea you knew Italian, _Signor _Trip."

Trip chuckled, his face turning a shade of scarlet. "My great-grandmomma on my mom's side was Italian, and she didn't tolerate a lot of fuss. Don't get too excited, Chef, 'cause that's the extent of my language ability."

The Sickbay doors opened again, this time to admit Crewmen Cunningham and Figlioni. They wheeled in a dessert cart between them, piled high with _mokka _treats and several huge glass jars of liquid _mokka. _Cunningham glanced at Phlox, his eyes widening at seeing the doctor at Liz's bedside, but his voice was as professional as usual.

"Doctor, here's all the _mokka_ we could find, except the huge solid blocks we put aside for future use. Where do you want this?"

Phlox finally looked up and nodded. "Position the cart in between the women's biobeds, gentlemen. Lieutenant Commander Reed, Captain Archer, will you both assist me? We are going to do something quite unorthodox with Chef Antonio's _mokka_—"

* * *

Hoshi opened her eyes to see both Jon Archer and Malcolm Reed gazing down at her, their eyes both concerned and hopeful. She felt a pleasurable buzz going through her veins and she responded with a brilliant smile. Hoshi glanced at the intravenous line that snaked out of her arm and was attached to...an IV bag filled with liquid _mokka_? 

"Now _that's _a sight," she said aloud. "I know I joke about being attached to an IV line of chocolate, but I didn't think it was actually _possible_."

Jon laughed in relief and said, "Medically, it shouldn't be, but apparently the Dnayuns administer it in...some interesting ways. Phlox learned some medical techniques from them while we were there."

"The liquified form acts as a medical drug," T'Pol added, "and thus makes it possible."

Her grin widened and she threw her unattached arm around Malcolm, who returned the hug with enthusiasm. "I heard your words, Malcolm," she whispered. "Thank you for bringing me back."

"Yeah, I knew you were a romantic at heart, Phlox," Liz echoed as she squeezed the doctor's arm. The Denobulan blushed, both at her words and at the physical contact.

"Good to see ya both up and awake," Trip said with a grin. "I hope we didn't disturb your nap too much."

"No, but it was worth seeing you read T'Pol the riot act," Liz replied with a wicked smile. T'Pol flushed bronze-green, but she didn't move from Trip's side.

Chef blushed and said, "Ah, _scusi, _Hoshi, _Elizabetta_."

"No need to apologize, Antonio," Hoshi assured him. Her happiness faded as she remembered that she had a request to make. "Malcolm—"

"What is it, love?" Malcolm asked, suddenly unnerved by her change of mood.

"I think you'd better sit down for this. I need your help for something important."

* * *

Silence came over Sickbay as Liz and Hoshi finished their story. T'Pol's eyebrows looked like they were about to fly off her face, Captain Archer and Trip looked somewhat skeptical, Chef and Phlox looked interested, and Malcolm... 

Well, stunned was an understatement.

"She just wanted to contact us," Trip repeated, his voice filled with wonder, "but how are we gonna talk to her, if just _bein' _around us causes problems?"

"I supposed EVA suits in a shuttlepod isn't going to work," Jon added, "if this lifeform can disrupt both people and electronics."

"And she's afraid of me," Malcolm said in a quiet voice. "She called me a 'Dark Soul'."

Hoshi slipped her hand into his. "She wants to be sure you aren't going to consider her a threat, Malcolm. I know that's your job, to protect the ship and crew, but she's afraid you're going to hurt her."

"Is that what she thinks of me? That all I will do is hurt her?" he asked, with a touch of bitterness in his voice.

Phlox's tone was gentle. "Commander, we Denobulans have a saying, 'The most bitter darkness can be illuminated by the softest light'. If her name is indeed 'Star', just like your Hoshi, then will you allow them to help you?"

He nodded and said, "Yes."

_I have always wanted to meet you, _came Star's voice, and they all started as they heard it, _but to meet, it requires faith and trust in what may seem strange to you. You might feel fear, but I assure you, there is nothing to be afraid of. You are not trusting, Dark One, but will you do so, just this once?_

Malcolm took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Yes."

_Will you accept the aid of your friends?_

"Yes."

_Then you must trust and let go. _Although Star was invisible, they all "felt" her turn towards Captain Archer. _Captain, forgive me for all the chaos I have caused. It was not my intent to damage your people or your Flying Bird. I have never met your kind before and had no idea that I could hurt so much just by my presence._

"That's all right. It was all a misunderstanding. Though I'm at a loss at how we could actually meet you, since we have this problem." Captain Archer's brow wrinkled in thought. "How were you able to talk to Hoshi and Liz in the first place?"

_They thought of helping others and then they just...came to me. I cannot explain it better than that._

"A kind of meditation, perhaps?" T'Pol inquired. "Focusing your attention on a single goal. In Lieutenant Sato's case, the translation on the Bridge and in Crewman Cutler's case, easing Chef's pain."

_Perhaps. We might be able to make an attempt. I cannot accommodate you all, but perhaps if you _all _try, at least two or three of you may be able to bridge the Gap."_

Phlox shook his head. "I would prefer to stay here and monitor you all. If one of you go into some kind of distress, it would ease my mind greatly if I was here to help you."

Trip smiled and asked, "Can I keep ya company, Doc? I'm lousy at meditatin', even now."

"I would appreciate your help, Commander."

Archer nodded. "I need you here in case something else goes wrong with the ship, Trip. So, shall we go meet our new friend?"

Hoshi smiled and squeezed Malcolm's hand. "Yes. Let's do it."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chocophoria**

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.**

**Notes: Dedicated to all chocoholics everywhere:)**

**Pairings: Liz/Phlox, R/S, TnT, Hess/Rostov (mentioned)**

**Reviews and comments always welcome! This is the last chapter...granted, this isn't like most of my other ENT fics, but I did say it was "fluffier" than normal. LOL. Chocolate and first Contacts. (That was the challenge).**

**Extra chocolate for those who review! (Cadbury? Aero? Hershey's? Tim Tams? Ghiradelli? Lindt? Godiva? Anyone:) Thanks.**

**Rating: T

* * *

**

**Ten**

The surroundings were different this time. It appeared as a beautiful glade, heavy with the scent of wildflowers and illuminated with tiny spheres of light. The purple/orange sky was poised between dusk and dawn, but there was still plenty of light to see. She blinked in surprise.

_Star? Is this where you come from?_

_No, your kind would not survive, if I had brought you to my birth place. I constructed this from memories._

"Where _are_ we?" came Trip Tucker's stunned voice. "I swear, it looks just like the painting that hangs over the fireplace at my sister's place in Ireland—"

"Trip?" Hoshi glanced at the chief engineer, who sat on a huge mushroom, like the Caterpillar in "Alice of Wonderland". All Trip needed was a hookah. "I thought you'd stayed behind in Sickbay."

He nodded in confusion and looked down at her from his perch. "Yeah, so did I. I wasn't even _tryin' _to meditate—"

T'Pol reached over and lightly touched his wrist. "It appears that some sort of connection has pulled you in with me, Trip. Wherever I go, you go."

Her words brought a small smile to Trip's face and he slipped his hand within hers. "I guess you're stuck with me, huh?"

Hoshi stared at T'Pol's utterly un-Vulcan-like behavior. _True selves are shown in this place, without the constrictions of her society, _Star told her, _and your friend is more susceptible to the change than most. She knows of addictive substances that affect behavior, much like the _mokka.

Understanding dawned on Hoshi. _The trellium-D. But she hasn't even touched the stuff since—_

_It still affects her, even if she refuses to acknowledge it now. Her mate understands and will help her through it._

"Hoshi," Liz called. "I think you'd better come over here."

She saw Liz Cutler standing off to the side, close to the dark shadows of the glade. Hoshi joined her and followed Liz's line of sight. The glade ended abruptly at a cliff edge, overlooking a fast-moving stream. Malcolm stood with his back to Hoshi, arms crossed over his chest, head tilted to the stars above.

"Liz, wait here," Hoshi whispered, as a thrill of worry went through her. Then she realized, Where's Phlox?"

"He isn't here," Liz sounded distracted, as though her mind was somewhere else. "Star says he's back in Sickbay with Captain Archer and Chef, monitoring our bodies."

Archer's absence jarred Hoshi. Why hadn't the captain made the "crossing"? It was one more thing that she had to ask Star. Now, she had a more pressing problem. Noiselessly, she made her way to Malcolm's side. He turned and managed a smile at her, but it didn't meet his eyes.

"Cold?" Hoshi asked lightly. She slipped an arm around him and felt his shivering.

"Abominably so," he murmured, though like Liz, he sounded distracted. "I don't understand why—"

"Come join us," Hoshi whispered. "Don't hold yourself apart from the rest of us anymore. We _need _you, Malcolm."

_Yes, we do, _Star chimed in. _Allow your star to brighten your soul._

He said nothing for a moment. The echo of the stream increased to a raging river. A stone fell off the side of the cliff with a sharp crack and tumbled down with a splash. Hoshi's grip tightened around him.

"Malcolm. Trust me. Please?"

He nodded and allowed Hoshi to direct him away from the cliff and back towards the glade. Liz smiled at them and gestured for them to sit next to her. On her other side, Trip and T'Pol sat close to each other, not quite touching.

_And now, the curtain lifts and a new day begins. _And to the east, the sky began to brighten into an alien dawn. The beauty of it took Hoshi's breath away.

"Oh my—" And like an echo, Hoshi overheard what was going on in Sickbay as the lights unfolded in her vision, and she felt Malcolm's hand squeeze hers in reassurance.

* * *

"Mueller to Archer." 

Jon tore his gaze away from Trip Tucker's prone body on the biobed. He stepped past Chef to the wall intercom. "Archer."

"Sir, I think you'd better get to a viewer," came Bernhard Mueller's voice. "You aren't going to believe this."

He exchanged glances with Phlox and Chef. Without any prompting, Phlox immediately turned on a monitor and instructed Mueller to transfer the video feed to it. The sight made all of them gasp. There, on the screen, was a planet, half in light and half in shadow, with landmasses in green and brown, and seas the color of dark _mokka_. Archer saw thin rings surrounding the planet, and a small moon on its far side.

"It just appeared out of nowhere, sir," Mueller said, his voice hushed. "Lieutenant Mayweather's put us at a full stop, but I don't think we're in any danger of running into it. It's there...but not there. The sensors show an echo, but nothing substantial."

"Fascinating," Phlox murmured. "Ensign, are the biosensors in perfect working order?"

There was a pause, then Mueller replied, "They are, Doctor. Are you seeing the same thing we are?"

"Indeed, Ensign. According to this, there are biosigns of a sort I've never seen before. I'll have to do a full analysis. Fascinating!"

Then Archer jumped as Hoshi's voice whispered, _Captain, this is why _you_ weren't brought over. Star says that _you _are the one most suited to make official contact with her people, while we do some...cultural exchanges here._

Archer felt the tension drain away. "Is everyone all right?"

_We're all okay. I don't think you have to worry about anyone shooting at us. And Liz, T'Pol and I will make sure the Disaster Twins won't get into trouble._

"A miracle. One Away mission where Trip and Malcolm comes back uninjured," Jon murmured ironically. Hoshi "laughed" and withdrew, while he addressed Mueller on the intercom, "I'm on my way up, Ensign."

* * *

Hoshi Sato's Personal Log: 

"First contact with a new species is always an exciting and thrilling prospect, especially when it happens peacefully. Star's people live on a 'tangential plane' to ours (at least, that's what T'Pol says) where Newtonian physics don't always work. That's why Star's initial contact caused so much trouble. She didn't know _just_ how her visits affected us and the ship's systems. It really did a number on engineering and the armory.

"The _mokka_ was the catalyst that helped make this first contact possible. It turns out that Star was able to manipulate its properties to propel us to a 'higher plane'. Trip joked about it being similar to 'a psychedelic trip'. That was how she was able to affect our emotions and behavior in the first place when we'd had Chef's 'mokka night'.

"Star's people believe in pleasure and light, almost to the point of child-like naivete. Getting to know them is a definite change from other first contacts. No wonder Star was so nervous around Malcolm... 'Dark Soul' is their catch-all term for negative emotions, like paranoia, aggression, and the like...and Malcolm being who he is and being the Ship's Armory Officer...let's just say it's a discovery of the soul for everyone all around.

"Speaking of Malcolm...now that we're a couple, where will our relationship take us? He worries about hurting me, about the no-frat rule, etc. But I point out to him that like anything else, we just need to let it develop. Take a look at Trip and T'Pol. (Gotta admit, that's weird.) Or Phlox and Liz (Weirder). Or Anna and Mike. (Okay, that match-up's just the weirdest. Star says they're made for each other. I just hope they don't kill each other first.)

"Worst case scenario, I still have plenty of my chocolate and _mokka_ stash left. And Antonio does a wonderful choco-pineapple tart."

---End of Hoshi Sato's personal log entry. Locked under code word _Chocophoria---_


End file.
